Q: What is it? A: A High Renaissance Tuscan villa that has been turned into a hotel, with ”frescoed ceilings, elaborate stuccowork and colourful terrazzo floors” and a pretty unmotivated staff. Impressive. That’s the first word that comes to mind… While driving up the hill after having passed the manned gate, you can’t but think [...]
Category Archive for 'Europe'
Q: What is it? A: Somebody put a palazzo built in the 15th century on a hilltop in Chianti furnished it with a lot of modern stuff and added a pool and an ambitious kitchen! You arrive at the villa and the first person you meet is… Dr. Evil? From a distance he may resemble [...]
Divino, Östermalm, Stockholm, Sweden ****
Posted in Europe, Restaurant, Stockholm, Sweden on Jul 5th, 2011
Q: What is it? A: A very ambitious and very pleasant Italian high-end restaurant in Stockholm. An instant hit. Divino is constantly rated very high among Swedish reviewers. That’s not hard to understand. Italian food has been a reason to avoid meatballs since the late 60s, and Divino delivers an array of such reasons. On [...]
Q: What is it? A: A villa in Lucca, Tuscany where you sleep and eat and get very well taken care of. It’s just one of many Tuscan villas… …but it does its job quite well, (being a villa, that is). It actually looks and feels very much like the quintessential Italian villa; a former [...]
Bocca di Lupo, Soho, London, United Kingdom ****
Posted in London, Nuggets, Restaurant, United Kingdom on Jun 5th, 2011
Q: What is it? A: An Italian embassy in Soho with fantastic pasta and an outstanding waiter. The fat of the land: Linguine with spider crab, tomato and basil. Dessert Sicilian style; a chocolate marzipan ball with rum and raisins in it. Brick building on 12 Archer Street, Soho. That’s where it’s at. I don’t know [...]